While 52 per cent of people can differentiate between the two roles, some 23 per cent said they did not know the difference, the survey conducted for Healthwatch England has revealed.
The organisation, which represents the interests of patients across England, has called for more clarity around the role of physician associates (PAs). PAs, who undertake two years of postgraduate training, have been used within the NHS since the early Noughties and are supposed to be support staff for doctors.
However, the use of the roles within the NHS has come under increased scrutiny and opposition in the last year from medics.
Writing in the GP magazine Pulse, Louise Ansari, chief executive of Healthwatch England, said: “The need for clarity on the role of PAs came across strongly in reports from local Healthwatch.
“Some local Healthwatch [organisations] explained that while patients might have heard of PAs and understood that they were not doctors, people’s understanding [of] what they can and can’t do is more limited. In many cases, patients needed to be made aware of the local presence of PAs, and often only found out about the role when given an appointment with a PA.”
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